Mother Mary said at Fatima: "My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the sure way which will lead you to God." St. Thomas Aquinas said: "The things we love tell us who we are!" With that in mind, I will try to post each day something about Our Blessed Lady, items about the Holy Roman Catholic Church, and public domain Catholic books too! I pray you enjoy my ministry!
Below are two albums of pictures that I created:
1. Our grand daughter Adrianna.
2. Tears of Mary!

Social Justice Or The Social Reign of Christ the King?

True Charity Must Care For The Body And The Soul!

“In the broad sense of the term, everything in the world is a sacrament, for everything in the world can be made a means of leading us on to Christ and hastening the reign of Christ.”

There is a philosophy behind charity as there is a philosophy behind everything else in life. It is that philosophy in relation to the tendencies in modern social service which this chapter seeks to discover and analyze in light of Catholic philosophy.

The first tendency in modern charity is towards greater organization, even to the extent of making it one of the big business concerns of the country. The breadbasket stage, the penny-in-the-cup stage, the handout stage, have given way to the bureau and the scientific-giving stage. Statistics are replacing sympathy, and social workers are replacing emotions.

The Deification Of Society At The Expense Of The Individual

The second tendency in modern charity is towards a deification of society at the expense of the individual. The philosophical principle behind this tendency is not that of the common good, which claims that individuals shall effectively cooperate for the well-being of society, but rather the principle that individuals be submerged for the sake of the collectivity. Some socialists carry glorification of society to the detriment of the individual to such a height that he makes “the service of God consist in the service of men,” and consequently denies any such thing as an individual sin. The only sin is the social sin; “disloyalty to society”

The final tendency in modern philanthropy is toward absoluteness—not in the sense that it seeks to rid the world of poverty, crime and disease, but in the sense that the alleviation or partial elimination of these ills constitutes its full and final purpose. Giving bread means filling empty stomachs—it means nothing more and it can mean nothing more. Improving home conditions means better light, better food, warmer temperature—and nothing more. It is assumed throughout the whole process of alleviating the ills of mankind that mankind has no other destiny than the present, and that the fruits of helpfulness and philanthropy, if they extend beyond a stomach, a playground or a clinic, never go any further than a formula gleaned from those experiences.

True Philosophy Of Charity

The true philosophy of charity would not condemn these modern tendencies and ask for their destruction. Rather it would ask that they be elevated to conform to these three principles:

1)Charity must not only be organized, but must be organic

2)Charity must deal not only with society, but also with individual souls

3)Charity must not be absolute, but sacramental—not only of the earth earthy, but of the heavens heavenly.

The assumption behind organized charity is that charity work becomes organized when individuals come together and unite themselves for the purpose of remedying the social ills of mankind, as men might come together to form a club. It is further assumed that charity work develops horizontally, that is, it begins with men and ends with men, proceeding from the organization through the social worker and finally out to the needy

True Charity Is Not The Will Of Men, But The Will Of God

This conception of charity is not the Christ-like one. For us the source of charity is not the will of men, but the will of God. The origin of charity lies not in effective human groupings, but in divine life, and hence its development or unfolding is not horizontal which begins with men and ends with men, but vertical, beginning with God at its summit, and ending with man as its term. According to our philosophy, charity begins within the bosom of the Triune God, for charity is the definition of God. Charity, then, is not horizontal, extending from kind-hearted men to needy men, but vertically extending from the infinite source of charity, God Himself, down to the members of the mystical body, through the Incarnation. Charity, then, is not organized, nor is charity work accomplished through organizations. The first charity bureau was in Bethlehem. Its first case was the case we are still working on—the salvation of humanity through the infinite life of Jesus Christ.

If there are certain members of Christ’s society who are thirsty, hungry or in need—it is we the whole body, who are thirsty, hungry and needy, for we are members one of another in the body of Christ. Their needs, their wants, are not theirs but ours, and no charity can call itself Christian unless is realizes this. And so, the sufferings of the poor weak members of the mystical body are our sufferings, and the sufferings of the body are the sufferings of Christ. There is a charity-sentiment, divine in its inspiration, that we should love all those who are near and dear to us. In addition to the charity-sentiment, there is the charity-duty, which is based not upon natural affection for one another, but upon the divine affection of Christ for members of His body. There may be much in humanity that is worth loving, even from human motives, but there is little to love in the wrecks that come to charities. If there is to be love for them, it must be inspired by Some One Who first loved some one who was not worth loving—I mean Christ loving us— and unless the social worker sees Christ in the needy, he will not long love the needy.

True Catholic Charity

The true philosophy of charity cannot accept without correctives the modern tendency to regard as the absolute end of charity the alleviation of the ills that afflict mankind, nor can it regard as an ideal a society that is free from disease, hospitals, and prisons—not because such an ideal is wrong, but because it is incomplete. It is a tenet of the Catholic philosophy of charity that the lessening of the ills of mankind and the diminution of the traces of disease are not ends in themselves, but rather means to an end. In other words, philanthropy is not absolute in its end but sacramental. In the strict sense, there are seven sacraments—material things used as means of spiritual sanctification. In the broad sense of the term, everything in the world is a sacrament, for everything in the world can be made a means of leading us on to Christ and hastening the reign of Christ.

It is this sacramental, transparent character of charity that lends dignity and worth to its duller and harder side. It is love of society that enables some men to get out from their individual self-centeredness and selfishness….But if there is no Christ beyond society, if there is nothing but society, then where can society find something that will make it forget its self-centeredness and selfishness

Charity workers are therefore to do with these great realities what He did. First of all, we are to offer our individual human natures to Him, that He may continue the work of His Incarnation—human natures in which He might visit the sick, instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, open blind eyes to the light of His sunlight, unstop deaf ears to the music of the human voice. Secondly, we are to make use of things, our possessions, our talents, as kinds of sacraments, each one of which has pronounced over it the consecrating words: “This is offered on account of You, O Lord!” in order that the whole universe may become sacramentalized for His Honor and Glory.

This is the philosophy of Catholic charity. It has never been quite right to say that God is in His Heaven and all is right with the world; for Christ has left the heavens to set it right and He is found amongst us.

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MARY, OUR MOTHER

Mother Mary said at Fatima: "My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the sure way which will lead you to God." With that in mind, I will try to post each day something about Our Blessed Lady, items about the Holy Roman Catholic Church, and public domain Catholic books too! I pray you enjoy my ministry!Below is a slide show of pictures that I have collected: Tears of Mary!

Have a look!

Jeremiah 14:17; 15:18

"Let my eyes shed down tears night and day, and let them not cease, because the Virgin daughter of my people is afflicted with an exceedingly grievous evil. / Why is my sorrow become perpetual, and my wound desperate so as to refuse to be healed?"

Ubi Petrus, ibi ecclesia, et ubi ecclesia vita eterna

Where Peter is, there is the Church, where the Church is there is Eternal Life

About Me

I'm 80, formally married to Marianne for 52 years, [Marianne passed away to the Lord on August 9th, 2013 after suffering a stroke and two cardiac arrests.] We have 4 children (plus 2 in heaven-stillborn) and nine grandchildren plus 1 Step-grandchild. I'm a Korean War Vet, U.S. Navy; I was a Motorcycle News Courier for U.P.I., and WNEW Chanel 5 TV News, during 60's & 70's; a Lieutenant in the Wycoff Hospital Police in the 90's. I was ordained a Permanent Deacon for the Brooklyn Diocese on April 25, 1987 and served in four parishes before relocating to Florida in 2002. I'm still incardinated for Brooklyn Diocese. There was no parish in my town so we traveled to either Mt. Dora or Eustis for Mass. My oldest son and daughter, John and Anne, lived near us but the rest of the gang are up North in New York and Pennsylvania. We have now relocated to a northern state and my ministry is mostly on the Internet with some blogs and groups. I also assist the pastor at the local Catholic church. I owe my life and conversion/calling to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel de Garabandal, who has brought me to her Son Jesus. I am Their servant and slave! I only want to do the Will of God and glorify the Most Blessed Trinity with my life!

My Friend Archbishop David Milne

PSALM 71 SPEAKS TO MY HEART

Forsake Me Not When My Strength Is Spent

In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;let me never be put to shame!In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;incline your ear to me, and save me!

Be to me a rock of refuge,to which I may continually come;you have given the command to save me,for you are my rock and my fortress.

Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.For you, O Lord, are my hope,my trust, O Lord, from my youth.Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;you are he who took me from my mother's womb.My praise is continually of you.

I have been as a portent to many,but you are my strong refuge.My mouth is filled with your praise,and with your glory all the day.Do not cast me off in the time of old age;forsake me not when my strength is spent.

For my enemies speak concerning me;those who watch for my life consult togetherand say, “God has forsaken him;pursue and seize him,for there is none to deliver him.”

O God, be not far from me;O my God, make haste to help me!May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;with scorn and disgrace may they be coveredwho seek my hurt.

But I will hope continuallyand will praise you yet more and more.My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,of your deeds of salvation all the day,for their number is past my knowledge.

With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

O God, from my youth you have taught me,and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

So even to old age and gray hairs,O God, do not forsake me,until I proclaim your might to another generation,your power to all those to come.Your righteousness, O God,reaches the high heavens.You who have done great things,O God, who is like you?

You who have made me see many troubles and calamitieswill revive me again;from the depths of the earthyou will bring me up again.You will increase my greatnessand comfort me again.

I will also praise you with the harpfor your faithfulness, O my God;I will sing praises to you with the lyre,O Holy One of Israel.My lips will shout for joy,when I sing praises to you;my soul also, which you have redeemed.

And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long, for they have been put to shame and disappointedwho sought to do me hurt.

Welcome to my Marian Blog

As you can tell from my postings, I'm in love with Mother Mary, who has taken me under her mantle of protection, has taught and led me to Her Divine Son, Jesus; Who in turn has led me, in the Holy Spirit, to the Eternal Father! Two prayers that I say often tell who I am:Come O Holy Spirit; Come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Your well-beloved Spouse.

O Most Holy Trinity, I adore Thee. My God, my God, I love Thee in the Most Blessed Sacrament.